Dynasty Warriors: Perversion of Faith
by dozy-joe-2000
Summary: Alternate Universe ficwhile campaigning against the Nanman in the southwest of China, Xiahou Dun makes a discovery about the man to whom he has sworn eternal allegiance. One that causes the most loyal of men to rebel against those he once counted as his f
1. Chapter 1

**DYNASTY WARRIORS**

**PERVERSION OF FAITH**

Chapter One-The Battle at Nanman 

Sweat trickled down Xiahou Dun's heavy brow, soaking his long black hair and getting in his one good eye. He adjusted the scarf he wore over his empty left eye socket and wiped the other. He immediately wished he hadn't, the salty sweat stinging his eye. His lacquer-reinforced battle robe was wet through from crossing the many streams and rivers that littered the rainforest-shrouded southwestern corner of his homeland. It weighed him down, but that helped with his footing, which would be essential when meeting the Nanman charge, especially with the armour troops they would be meeting. The loose soil was less of an obstacle in his present state. He looked left and right.

The Wei army had found a pretty wide clearing in the rainforest, littered with low tree-stumps and shallow root holes. Hopefully they would hinder even the skilled feet of the Nanman army. There were trees to the rear, not shy of a dozen metres, and about two hundred metres in front, the forest rejoined. High cliffs fenced in the flanks of the clearing. An ideal battlefield for the Nanman due to the slight slope they had to charge down, a not-so-ideal battlefield for the sick, weary, but battle-hardened Wei troops.

Somewhere behind, Xiahou Dun heard his cousin's voice preparing for battle.

"Archers to the front! Pikes, Spears, and Halberds behind. Infantry to the rear!" Cao Cao bellowed. Xiahou Dun remained in his place leading the Infantry, while past them and through them filed ranks of spears, halberds, and pikes. They formed up just in front of them. The Archers made their way to the very front, from which they would then return to the rear when the enemy charged to volley from secured positions.

The fifteen thousand strong Wei army had started out as thirty thousand but between Nanman raids, hit and runs, and surprise suicide attacks they had been whittled down. By Xiahou Dun's reckoning, the Nanman had lost roughly twice, maybe three times the numbers Wei had, but there always seemed to be more, more traps, more raiding parties, more everything. Also, illnesses had begun to spread among the men. Dun doubted that the army would hold. But Cao Cao had insisted that the army continue to battle, so continue they did. Dun was expecting a force at least four times the strength of the Wei army to hit them. For the first time in his career he found himself glad there were five ranks deep of spear troops between him and the enemy.

An order echoed across the contained field of battle. The spears went down, ready to meet the charge. Dun let out a quick, muttered prayer. He could hear the troops behind and in front of him doing the same, a jumbled whisper in the late afternoon sun.

The sound of several thousands of bowstrings sounded atop the slope in the treeline. Dark shapes could be seen retreating. Burning arrows arced into the air, landing in the treeline behind, blocking the Wei army's route of escape. As the fire rained from the sky, Dun noticed that several troops around him had given in to their fears and turned and ran. That would be damaging for morale. He was glad to see that only perhaps a hundred troops had done so. He felt pride rise in his chest, nudging his heart, making it beat harder; preparing to make way for battle-lust once the fighting began.

The ground thundered. Several more soldiers fled, but not many. Not many. The pride grew.

The Nanman horde came into view, slowing to a walk at the top of the rise, conserving their energy for battle. There they waited. Dun could only see the front few ranks…not enough to calculate numbers. But their front troops, bare-chested and barelegged, clad only in a loincloth and leather boots, and holding a spear or sword, numbered maybe a thousand. Dun knew they could expect a lot more. Only strong formations would save the Wei force here, and prayers that the spearmen would do their job well and thin the numbers.

"Fire!" Dun heard his brother Xiahou Yuan cry from the fore of the archers. He had not been happy being assigned to lead them, but Dian Wei had been given the honour of leading the spearman. Dun expected Yuan to join the infantry once the archers fell back-he would want to break a few Nanman with his battle rod.

The Nanman saw the archers raise their bows, arrows nocked and ready, and began to jog down the slope, leaping root holes and tree stumps, never faltering. Some of the less surefooted Nanman warriors fell, knocking down others, but they quickly recovered and rejoined the charge.

Dun watched the archers fire volley after volley until their quivers were a third empty. He saw dozens of Nanman fall, but they came on like a tide, never-failing. He saw now the armour troops, armed similarly to the normal warriors, but sporting thick, heavy Nanman Armour, weak only at the knee and where the face was exposed of course.

Xiahou Dun drew his Kirin Blade, checked its keen edge, and assumed a ready position. He saw from the corners of his eyes the rest of the infantry under him doing the same with their weapons.

The Nanman closed to thirty metres and the archers fled, rushing through the ranks of spearmen, who tensed themselves and muttered even more prayers to the Great Dragons.

The Nanman closed the gap in seconds and threw their full weight into the Wei spearmen. The front rank was immediately forced back a stride but their heavy armour saved them. They began to push in return, as hard as they could. He saw many of the first rank fall. He saw the captain of the first rank standing next to Dian Wei embed his halberd in a Nanman warrior only to over-extend his thrust and have it dragged down with his enemy's dead weight. Two more Nanman cut him down as one of the Second rank charged forth to seal the gap. It galled Dun to be so close to the fighting yet not be able to charge the enemy down.

The armour troops reached the spearmen now. The bodies of Nanman warriors were beginning to pile up as the spearmen held formation, but once the armour troops hit, things became an altogether different story.

The archers had reformed just in front of Dun's troops and were firing continuously into the horde as they rushed down. More fell, and the layer of bodies on the ground was beginning to thicken, but Wei bodies were joining the fray. The Spearmen were weakening under the sheer weight of enemy numbers. They were thinning, six thousand becoming roughly five thousand five hundred. The gaps in the Wei line were becoming more pronounced, giving the spearmen more room. The veterans began to show their skills, spinning and slicing and thrusting, desperately fighting and dying, their formation breaking.

Dun judged that the Nanman had lost roughly nine hundred, perhaps a thousand, very few of whom were armour troops. They were becoming more numerous as the Nanman forces came on.

"Infantry!" cried Cao Cao from where he stood to the rear, Xiahou Yuan now beside him. He began running up to meet Dun.

"Charge!" came the order. Xiahou Dun raised his blade and screamed out a feral battle cry. His men joined him, fire in their empty bellies. As one the seven thousand medium-armoured troops rushed forth to meet the enemy, slamming into the front lines with the force of a sledgehammer, driving the Nanman back a few steps. The battle continued.

Xiahou Dun cut left and right, chopping down the first half-naked warriors to get in his way. He disembowelled a third Nanman with a broad horizontal slice across his lower torso. He parried a pair of incoming blows and cleared a space around himself with a couple of wide sweeps of is blade.

"Forward!" screamed the captain of the Infantry's first rank, and troops began to swarm into the space around Dun, driving a wedge into the enemy. Beset upon from all sides, Dun frantically parried and dodged, slashed and thrust, tearing a bloody swathe through the enemy into which Wei troops poured like molten iron into a mould. Dun ducked a particularly vicious sword attack from a Nanman armour troop, thrust his blade through the weak spot at the troop's knee, and brought his blade down two-handed on the soldier's face, cleaving the head in two almost. He looked up to see an enemy officer clad in a loincloth, leather boots and wrist guards, and a gleaming horned helmet rushing towards him, a heavy sword in his hands. He swung it in an overhead strike, down upon Dun. Dun blocked barely, his blade juddering in his gauntleted hands, almost making him lose his grip. He barrelled forwards with twin attacks of his own, slicing blows to the left and right upper arms, which the officer parried. He prepared to strike again, but the officer hadn't thought about his surroundings. Driven by over-confidence, he stepped back to get greater weight behind what he wished to be his deathblow, and succeeded only in getting thrown forwards by the churning mix of bodies behind him. He stumbled on a low stump, and tripped forwards…right onto Dun's Kirin Blade. The curved sword impaled the officer up to the hilt. Dun sneered at the shocked look on his enemy's face, and kicked the man savagely from his blade, knocking his dead weight into the men behind him, knocking them down. Dun was immediately attacked by a bellowing Nanman warrior who swooped down on him from the side, coarse wooden spear in hand. Dun sidestepped his first blow, spun forwards, blade outstretched, avoiding the second thrust and opening the throat of his attacker, who fell to the ground, gasping and being trampled by his comrades. Dun cut down another foe savagely as he charged him, nearly cleaving the Nanman's torso in two, then spun, blade in the air to find another foe…only to see Yuan standing behind him, battle rod bloodstained and heavy, raising a hand to block Dun's descending wrists. Dun let his blade fall to a ready position, grinning tiredly at his lacquer-plated brother. Yuan grinned back and together they surged forth into the fray, a whirlwind of death, cutting, clubbing, and spinning their way through the ranks of enemies.

Dun had long since lost track of how the overall battle was going. He was in the zone many warriors feared but he loved like a second brother, the stage of complete uncontrollability that came with being in the very heart of a sea of enemies, fighting for your life. He could just distinguish from friend and foe, but the only other thing that mattered was that he kept fighting, just him, his blade, and the swarms of enemies. By his reckoning, he had personally slain a major officer, two minor officers, twenty-four Nanman warriors, and fifteen armour troops. Not bad. He had to do better. He was bleeding from numerous gashes on his arms where the lacquer plates and white robe had been cut away, revealing bloody scratches, and a major gash along his right cheek, which hurt whenever a feral laugh escaped his lips at the felling of an enemy. He continued cutting a path, further staining his robe with blood. He was vaguely aware of Yuan fighting to his right, crushing his enemies with mighty sweeps of his mace-like weapon. He did not know if the Nanman were still coming, though he was vaguely aware of arrows still raining down, though on which side he did not know. Tactical considerations were secondary to him in his current state. He sidestepped an unlucky spearman's hasty thrust, and with a vicious, hunched reverse spin, he swung his blade with terrible momentum, felling not only the unfortunate spearman but also three more Nanman warriors who had been moving to help him. Blood spurted. Dun slipped in a pool of it, and was about to curse his luck when the blade of a Nanman armour troop flashed through the spot his neck had occupied a second before. Dun rolled, and scythed his blade around to the right, removing both of the man's legs at the knee and leaving him to bleed to death.

Dun once again got carried off into the maelstrom of melee combat around him.

Cao Cao watched the battle, not the least bit shocked. He had had a good feeling about the battle, but this was stunning. His fifteen thousand-strong, weak and hungry force had held against the impressive charge of more than forty thousand assorted Nanman infantry soldiers, and looked as though they were about to turn them back through sheer ferocity. The effects of good morale, he thought to himself, satisfied. He would not begin his celebrations just yet however-sheer weight of numbers was still likely to drive his modest army back. The battle was certainly an impressive sight. He saw with immense satisfaction that the Nanman army had brought their barely trained peasant archers back to rain shafts down on the Wei troops. It showed that his army had shocked them in its tenacity. Now was the time to push harder.

"Archers, fire at will. Spearmen, throw your lot in with the infantry, push these Nanman dogs back!" he cried. His officers relayed the orders, and the two thousand or so surviving Spearmen reformed into a solid column formation and rushed in to join the infantry in a desperate life-or-death push. Cao Cao saw that his losses had been huge, eight thousand or more so far, but the Nanman had suffered more than twice that in return. The battle was reaching its climax.

All was going to plan. On both counts.

He withheld a grin.

Dun's vision was clearing. He had just put down a pair of armour troops whom had been unlucky enough to cross his path, bringing his total to a major officer, four minors, thirty-eight warriors and twenty-two armour troops. At first he wondered what had dragged him from his world of savagery and blood, and then he noticed. The battle had changed, its tides and winds reversing. Xiahou Dun smirked, ignoring the stinging pain from his wounded cheek. The battle, it seemed was won. Some Nanman were still fighting, but many had broken and fled or were orderly retreating up the slope under cover of their archers. He crouched and covered his face with the flat of his sword as arrows rained down once more, and then the archers too removed themselves from the field, escaping into the treeline at the top of the slope. He looked around him-the field was knee-deep in corpses, thousands of them. Around a quarter of the Wei forces were still standing, and by Dun's reckoning there were maybe a hundred Nanman still fighting, four thousand or so fleeing into the trees. Dun noted with satisfaction that there were far, far more Nanman corpses lying on the ground than there was Wei. Dun was highly impressed. He was sorry so many troops had been lost, but they had taken several times their number with them to the Dragons, to whom he now uttered a quick prayer to ensure the fallen warriors of the field their safe deliverance.

A single panicked, screaming Nanman warrior sprinted at him, bellowing and swinging a sword. Dun calmly parried, sliced the sword-arm off at the shoulder with a savage blow, reversed his blade, turned and impaled the warrior upon it under one arm. He withdrew his blade and heard his enemy hit the ground with a satisfying thud.

"Dun, you excelled yourself in the battle. I thank you." Came the voice of Cao Cao from behind him. Dun spun.

"Cousin, you should not be upon the battlefield. Should this be a ruse then-"

"It is no ruse, Dun. They are fleeing for good-I sent units to ensure it wit fire arrows. We are hot on their heels."

Dun laughed at the pun.

"I have entrusted you with my life many times, Dun. Would you trust me through anything-support me through thick and thin?" asked Cao Cao cryptically, his hands clasped behind his back, his white and blue battle-plate glinting in the sun.

"You know I would. Anything." Xiahou Dun replied, concerned. Cousin Cao was rarely so cryptic.

"Then follow, and become enlightened."

With this, Cao Cao turned and strode away, Dun in close pursuit.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two-Revelations

Xiahou Dun, wounded and weary, stumbled into a dirty white tent after his venerated Cousin, half a kilometre from the battlefield, in a smaller jungle clearing, in the army's camp. his sword sheathed upon his back. He was glad when he felt the cool of the inside of the command tent, in comparison to the humidity and insane heat outside. He smoothed his brow, wiping clear a bead of sweat. He briefly took in the inside of the tent, the small square wooden table and two chairs, one of which usually remained unoccupied, a bland, functional affair, with a more ornate chair serving as Cao Cao's own seat. He did a double take, nearly stumbling in alarm on the uneven dirt floor. The seat was occupied by a figure he did not recognise. A western Barbarian by the looks of things, wearing a white robe that appeared to be immaculate despite his no doubt arduous trip through the jungle. His olive skin was covered in a fine sheen due to the humidity, and his head was bald. His eyes were a piercing blue, and for a moment Xiahou Dun fancied the man could see straight through him with those terrible eyes. The man's face wore an expression of unerring scorn, and Dun developed an instant dislike for the man.

Anger rose in Dun at the disrespect of this unlikeable westerner, and he drew his blade, pressing the tip to the man's fleshy throat. The scornful expression never left the man's face, angering Dun still further.

"You dare disrespect my Lord by taking his place of precedence?" he growled, "I should strike you down where you sit!"

"Be at peace, Cousin Dun. He is here at my intent. A most honoured guest." Cao Cao muttered from behind Dun, and placed a calming hand upon his shoulder. The soothing tone of Cousin Cao's voice coaxed the anger from Dun, and steadily, he sheathed the blade.

"I apologise. I am come from the battle, and still my emotions run wild, like the winds. My name is Xiahou Dun, and any friend of Cousin Cao is a friend of mine." Dun muttered, hoping he had been able to put something like a truthful air to his words. He inclined his head slightly, never taking his eyes off of the unwelcome guest. The westerner's face switched expressions to one of good grace and understanding, as though the entire conversation had been pre-rehearsed. The eyes never changed though-still scornful, and sharp as arrowheads. Xiahou Dun resolved to watch the man.

"Think nothing of it, Xiahou Dun. Battle is a loathed but necessary affair, and having been an observer of it for some time now, I realise how it must heighten the emotions of a man. The fault is all mine." but he did not move from the chair. He obviously enjoyed the power he held in this situation, whatever its source. But it worried Dun. It worried him greatly.

"Cousin Dun, this man is an emissary of a western empire, a great empire, ever expanding, much like our own smaller empire here in China. He and his venerable people are Romans, and mighty indeed are their armies. They hold in their grasp many countries and protectorates, ensuring that they are currently in control of a large portion of the world. And they have made Wei an offer, a very reasonable offer. Sit, and I will explain." Cao Cao said, walking around to the side of the square wooden table. Xiahou Dun sat heavily in the chair opposite this Roman, never taking his eyes off of him. Anxiety rose in Dun's chest. He quelled it quickly. It did not do to show anxiety in such company, and besides, he had no business doubting his worthy cousin. He would make the right decision. He always had, leading the unifying power of Wei to victory after victory-just recently, had he not led Wei troops to victory over the Shu in several key battles, completely destroying their kingdom, and reaching the rich, defensible provinces of the Nanman by cutting a swathe through their armies. Xiahou Dun could not yet see the merit of such a plan, but was confident in Cao Cao's tactical and strategic integrity. Heartened by such thoughts, Dun sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"Rome are eager to expand their empire, and they are fine, honourable men. They aspire to unify the world, a noble purpose very similar once again to our own. Their armies are currently committed fighting in the West, securing further expansion. While they fight in the West, they have seen the plight of our great country and it goes against their sought-after ambitions for unity, to see our country in such terrible plight, and to this end, they wish to help Wei, the kingdom which they see as the most promising at this time."

Cao Cao finished, and there was a very pregnant pause. Dun glanced at the Roman again, and saw he was smiling what he obviously thought was a reassuring smile. Dun would have plainly assured him that it was not. Looking back at Cao Cao, he saw an odd look in his eyes, fleetingly. Perhaps, regret? But then it was replaced with the odd exaggerated graciousness.

"These fine, honourable men have promised several of their best legions to supplement our own forces, in the interests of our mutual peace and unity." Cao Cao finished. His face flickered once again…Xiahou Dun was not a stupid man. Something here was badly wrong. The repetition of fine and honourable…like Cousin Cao was trying to convince himself more than anybody else.

The Roman was smiling a terrible smile.

"The Great Roman Empire will gladly provide vast reserves of Gold to aid you in your endeavour to control your wayward-"

"Unify."

Cao, whom had lapsed into silence, jerked his head in Xiahou Dun's direction. The man was on his feet, eyes smouldering with anger.

"Unify our country. Not control."

"Of course, my apologies," the Roman attempted to pacify, "I meant no offence."

"What would your Roman Empire gain from this alliance?" Dun sat down, slowly, his eyes boring into the eyes of the emissary. All pretence of politeness the Roman now abandoned, and anger touched his voice when he spoke.

Dun could see where this was going.

"We would gain the right to utilise your country's military forces if necessary, we would of course gain trade rights, and be a strong influence within the Wei court. Of course, we would continue to pay a tribute for these rights. We would also gain certain rights over your country's resources, within reasonable extent."

"Tribute or bribe?" Dun asked sharply.

"Cousin Dun, you forget your place! This man is an honoured guest!" Cao Cao was once again on his feet , his hands resting on the wooden tabletop.

"No Cousin Cao, it is you, I think, that have forgotten yours! Are you honestly suggesting that we should sell ourselves like a nation of whores to these barbarians?"

Dun could see it now. The hidden inferences, the subtext beneath the well-thought out half truths. This was no alliance. As Cao had said, the Romans were fully committed in the West, leaving few troops to send Eastwards. These expansionists had not the strength in the East to take China by force, and therefore they sought to pacify her, to buy the loyalty of her government and her fighting men. To become the dominant force in China. And, Xiahou Dun thought wryly, they would see how long this bribing lasted-he guessed it would be as long as it took to increase Roman strength enough to be a deterrent to whichever weak puppet they put in place to rule China. These legions sent to 'reinforce' the Wei army would in fact be more like a Garrison. And the country he and thousands of others had spilt their life's blood for in campaign after campaign, skirmish after skirmish, would be simply one more protectorate beneath these Western dogs. Submissive to their barbarian overlords, like dogs themselves. And Cousin Cao was prepared to let this travesty take place. It made his blood boil more than all else in this situation that the man he had sworn an oath on his lost eye to, the man he had vowed to serve until his own death, would sell his country and his soul to these warmongers. And following the anger came the bitter-sweet taste of betrayal.

"Cousin Dun, can you not see the merit of this alliance for our country?"

"Call it what it is, Cao. There is nothing noble about these barbarians, they wish only for us to submit to their will! How long do you believe the Gold they have promised you will last once they finish fighting in the West-long enough for them to reinforce the legions they intend to garrison here and make themselves total overlords of China. The country you have spilt blood for will be their domain. Don't try and make this an honourable choice Cousin Cao-you have sold your soul for simple coin to these westerners, these Romans!" Xiahou Dun spat. Guilt was plain on Cao's face.

"I am trying to…" Cao tried to respond to Dun's accusation, but his voice failed him. The Roman stepped in. Dun considered striking him down.

"Think, Lord Dun, of the situation. Our military might far surpasses yours. We have endless funds to throw into a war with your country. We can come to this more peaceful arrangement now, and save many lives and your country from harm. Or we can invade later with our full strength and destroy China utterly. There is nothing you can do to prevent our eventual conquest of this place, Dun. The legions that remain uncommitted in the West are but a fraction of our strength, but still they would outmatch your own forces." The Roman paused, and repeated himself, "There is nothing that you can do."

Xiahou Dun struck him down. In one smooth motion, the scimitar was unsheathed and slicing through the air. The emissary tried to draw a short sword from his robes, but was too slow. With horror in his eyes he pitched backwards over the wooden table, dying in a pool of his own blood.

"Go, Dun." came a voice from behind Xiahou Dun as he sheathed his blade. Cao stood behind him, blade drawn.

"Go. You are still my cousin. You have a days' grace, and then even the Great Dragons will not save you. Goodbye."

Dun nodded, and went for the tent entrance. He turned back briefly at the flap.

"I will fight this, Cousin, even if you will not."

And then he was gone, past startled guards and weary soldiers, through the humid air and the screams of the wounded.

"Goodbye, Cousin Dun."


End file.
